The Kunsthalle zu Kiel’s collection of sculptures has its roots in the foundation of the Schleswig-Holstein Kunstverein in 1843

The Kunsthalle zu Kiel’s collection of sculptures has its roots in the foundation of the Schleswig-Holstein Kunstverein in 1843 and is strongly influenced by the fact that the directors of the museum were, up into the 1970s, also professors at the Art History Department of Christian Albrecht University. The acquisitions during this period were predominantly small-format artworks by artists representing figurative styles. Key pieces of this time are August Rodin’s bronze bust Gustav Mahler, Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s bronze sculpture Lovers’ Heads, and a number of sculptures by Ernst Barlach. Modern non-figurative sculpture first found its way into the Kunsthalle zu Kiel’s collection after 1975 with two plaster casts by Hans Arp.

During this time the museum also systematically began to accrue a collection of contemporary three-dimensional art. The Kunsthalle zu Kiel today owns, among many others, works by Arman, Joseph Beuys, Jochen Gerz, Robert Jacobsen, Alf Lechner, François Morellet, Raffael Rheinsberg, and Dieter Roth.

Kazuo Katase’s sculptural installation Felsenglocke (Stone Bells) is set up in our inner court, and further outdoor sculptures can be found in the park on the south flank of the Kunsthalle, including also larger works by Per Kirkeby, Alf Lechner, Bjørn Nørgaard, and Karl Prantl.